The Beauty of Lying
by Lazy Owl
Summary: The story of a detective, a nurse, a playboy, two thieves and a mass murderer. All of them seek a purpose in their lives. Little do they know it is right in front of them and that without eachother they could never hope to achieve it. (Redrafting chapters)
1. The begining

**A/N: Hey guys you might notice this story from before well after going through it again and again, the slightest things wrong i.e. spelling, grammar and some other quirks pissed me off to no end so this is a redraft. Anyway about the story, it is loosely based off of my first story 'red clouds and sand' though I (and a lot readers probably) found it a bit dull and confusing. But I have been planning this story for a while now and since exams are out the way I will be trying to dish chapters out as soon as possible. Anyway to my fellow reviewers from before I would like to thank you for the amazing comments despite the things that I found annoying about my first draft. Those special people are:**

**-Yuimomo**

**-miikodesu**

**-SMILE**

**-ya-cho**

**-SizeSasuUchiha**

**-thatgirlingrey**

**I would like to say that I am not doing redraft just for reveiws believe me I am not, I just want people to enjoy the story without seeing errors that might put them off from reading somthing that I put effort into. Again thank you all and to those newcomers, all I can say is that I hope you like my !**

**Lazy Owl **

Chapter one: The beginning of bonds

It was aching. Her entire body from head to toe was aching. This was one of the many downsides of becoming a nurse at the only hospital in Konoha. You are expected to work a good eight hour shift of non-stop walking from patient to patient and reading report after report of the new patients or the recently deceased. Her name was Sakura Haruno, a pink haired nurse with a fiery a passion for helping those in need. Sakura took off the gloves that were covered in the blood of a man who was very lucky to be alive at that moment if it wasn't for Sakura's expertise. Despite her position of being a nurse and not chief of medicine or surgery, there was no one quiet as skilled as she was and that was thanks to her teacher, the only person that is better than her. She then washed her hands underneath the cold water and she let her mind escape for a moment which felt like hours to her. Yes, being the best meant that you were going to go through hell. She was enjoying the water so much she didn't recognize someone else open the door.

"Sakura, are you ok?" She heard the small voice behind her, and Sakura immediately turned her head to face the intruder of her peace, her hands shooting out from the cold tap water. She sighed when she saw only the sight of her best friend Hinata Hyuga. "S-sorry, for disturbing you, b-but your shift was over twenty minutes ago."

At hearing this Sakura's eyes widened and she began frantically taking off her scrub and then marching over to the nearest locker and shoved it in, not caring if the locker belonged to someone else. "Shit! Thanks for taking up your time to tell me Hinata, you are a life saver." Sakura said while grabbing for her hand bag and walking out the changing room then down the white hall way at a fast rate, forgetting all the aches from earlier.

Hinata followed her in the meantime giving Sakura a questioning look. "I have never seen you this much in a hurry to get out here. I mean I know this place is depressing a bit but-" Sakura held out a hand to stop her.

"It's not my desperation of getting out of here; it's a bit more… well… complicating than that." Sakura said, hoping that her friend would get the hint that she didn't want to talk about it. However Hinata continued.

"Is it a boy?" Hinata said with a soft smile and her pearl eyes full of amusement.

Sakura scoffed. "Pffft, as if that will ever happen any time soon. I can assure you I won't be dating for a while." Hinata blinked at her and then stayed silent for a couple of seconds before they arrived at the hospital's main door.

"Whatever, you say Sakura. Have pleasant evening!" Hinata said, remaining at the door while her friend walked off into the night. Sakura turned back to her and waved.

"Thanks! You to!" She shouted back before turning away, lost in her thoughts again. 'I hate to lie to Hinata, but in some cases this wasn't any boy … it was Sasuke Uchiha.' Sakura smiled with glee as she now practically skipped back to her house. 'I wonder what I am going to wear.'

**With Sasuke**

This afternoon has been… restless to say the least, if not exhausting. Playing second favourite to the head of his family's company and being his brother's personal messenger was not exactly what you would call a thrilling experience in fact it was the exact opposite. Right now he was looking down on the entire country, Natatui (It's a made up country). Right now his family's wealth and legacy stood in the heart of the land of fire's leaf district, Konoha. Today had been exceptionally exhausting thanks to the new project that's under way. What new and great idea the almighty king of the Uchiha's has come up with now was beyond him, he also didn't care. He continued to look down at the map and let his mind wonder off to a different subject, one particularly about a pink haired nurse called Sakura. He grinned at the memory of how they first met.

It started on the first year high school. When he first laid eyes on her he thought to himself 'What a total weirdo. Who dyes their hair pink?' yes he disliked the pink haired girl at first and prayed to whatever great deity is out there that he won't have to talk to her. Back then he thought he was cursed, but now he realised he was blessed. They were in the same class most of the time and were paired together for English. They did not start on good terms to say the least. However as the minutes went by, the more they got to understand each other. While he was in the shadow of his brother, Sakura was seen as a freak in her old school; being called names because of her natural pink hair and slightly large forehead. At the end of the year he finally had the courage to ask her to the school dance. Yes, the great king of cool was left as a stuttering mess when he asked that one girl to a dance, which at the time was unusual since had asked many girls out. He remembered the moment they shared on the dance floor clearly, from her beautiful dress to her elegant dancing and her-

'Knock, knock!' Sasuke was brought back into reality with that knock on the door and quickly grabbed some random notes that were lying on his desk.

"Enter." Sasuke said and in came an extremely pale looking young man with dark green hair and golden eyes. Yes he had a very strange look on him Sasuke thought when he first met him, but all negativities were brushed aside when they began talking. His name was Tori, just Tori, never had middle or second name and he prefers if he wasn't called anything else. He was kind, very funny young man and he was always trustworthy. "Tori, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing." Sasuke grinned at his co-worker.

Tori smiled back at him. "The results had just come in; looks like the Uchiha name will spread even further across Natatui." Just then Tori's smile dropped. "However there have been slight complications in the east and north."

Sasuke raised a brow at this. "May I see the report?" Tori nodded his head at him and gave him the report. 'Crap, the cloud district and stone district have denied our business negotiations despite having the Hokage, Danzo to support us. How typical. What else is there… we have opened factories in the Steam and Waterfall districts and… that is odd… plans to build a power plant in Suna? Why would we want to build a nuclear power plant there?' Sasuke continued stare puzzled by the news of taking business to the infamous sand district. Tori noticed the expression Sasuke wore and frowned.

"Is there something wrong Sasuke?" Tori asked. Sasuke looked up at his friend.

"No, nothing is wrong at all." Sasuke said and looked at his wrist watch and smiled. "But, that is my shift over and I am out of here. Good luck Tori, you are going to need it." Sasuke said and left his office. He walked towards the escalator that led down to the ground floor.

Tori followed and began smiling again. "You seem to be looking forward to getting home. Have you got plans tonight… a date maybe?"

Sasuke frowned a bit before smiling again. "Don't be silly." There were some things Sasuke won't even tell Tori, especially as the he was in a relationship with Sakura.

**With Sakura**

She put on the nicest dress she could find in her small wardrobe which was a red sleeveless top coming down past her waist and there was a black short skirt underneath. Tonight was special to her, it was rarity to talk Sasuke in person, let alone see him. It has been like this for a while. Sasuke was afraid that if anyone found out about their secret relationship, then all will be lost for the two of them. If anyone from the Uchiha clan found out, then Sasuke will be married off to some rich businessman's daughter. The Uchiha's were a proud and cruel clan that saw everyone that was not one of Konoha's elite below them. This included Sakura unfortunately. However so far their relationship has been going smoothly though it was slightly irritating sometimes for Sakura, but none of that will get in the way for tonight. That was until she heard her mobile ring and showed that it was a call from her oldest friend and best next to Hinata. Sakura sighed at picked it up and pressing it against her ear.

"Hey Ino, how have you been?" Sakura said not really caring. Tonight was not the time to hear he ramblings.

"Not much, but guess what. There I was at the super market yesterday and you won't believe who I saw…"

Sakura, after waiting for about a minute began to get impatient. "Who did you see-"

"…SASUKE! You should see him Sakura he is still dead gorgeous and he actually said 'hi' to me!"

Sakura had to pull the phone away from her ear to stop her becoming deaf. "That is great to know Ino, but don't you have a _boyfriend_?" Sakura said putting an emphasis on the boyfriend, not to mention sounding pissed that Ino was eyeing up Sasuke.

"Oh Sai, doesn't need to know. It will be our little secret." Ino giggled at the end. Sakura could practically feel Ino wink at her.

"Sure Ino, whatever you say." 'Besides at least you don't get to touch him the way I do.' Sakura thought evilly.

Just then there was a knock from the door of her fairly sized apartment. 'It's him!' Sakura thought. She put the phone to her ear. "Listen Ino, I got to go. Talk to you later, bye!" Sakura said at a fast rate.

"But Sak-" It was too late Sakura just hung up on her before Ino could finish her sentence.

Sakura sprayed some perfume on her quickly and began walking at a fast rate towards the door. She stopped at the door before taking a deep breath and turned the door knob.

There he was, the handsome devil known as Sasuke Uchiha. "Good evening Sakura." He said while smiling. Good god, looking that good should be a crime. He had his ebony coloured hair styled and was wearing his black jacket over his white shirt and black trousers to go with it. He had a very nice aftershave on as well. It all fitted his handsome face and charcoal eyes.

"Sasuke, come in, come in!" She said after hugging him and ushering him into her apartment. Though the apartment wasn't big exactly, it had a toilet, a bathroom which also had a shower and another toilet, a bedroom and the kitchen, dining room and living room was in the one area. She took his jacket and hung it up on the peg before leading him into living room. "So how have you been?"

"I have been doing well for my standards and business has also been going fine so far, though it is frustrating." He said while smiling at her. She smiled back at him while looking at the oven in the kitchen.

"Well… if it helps." She looked at him smiling cheekily. "I made your favourite meal."

Sasuke looked dumbfounded before breaking into a broad grin. 'Katsuobushi.'

**3 Hours later**

"… and the guy says 'well you better tickle mine to because now I got to catch the damn thing!'" Sakura then burst out in laughter at Sasuke's joke and Sasuke let loose a little chuckle of his own. Sakura thought the joke was pure genius, it was laid out perfectly and the punch line was hilarious. The whole evening was amazing, after they caught up they had dinner and afterwards they watched some movies. The night continued until they exchanged jokes with one another. Once Sakura finally managed to stop laughing she looked at Sasuke who looked like there was something on his mind.

Sakura put her hand on his shoulder and looked at him worriedly. "Are you ok Sasuke?" She asked him. He bowed his head and sighed deeply before looking up at her.

"Yeah I am… though I received news today that Uchiha industries are trying to open a nuclear power plant in Suna." He said though he was still in deep thought.

"Suna? That's far west from here, right? It is also called the land of wind's sand district." Sakura said trying to remember Natatui's main districts.

"Yes, but what I don't understand is why there?"

"Why does it matter, I thought it would be beneficial?"

"True, there are many people unemployed in Suna and there is plenty of room for a power plant. However, usually we try to avoid business with Suna since their Kazekage died and the city went to hell. Why do all of this now?" Sasuke frowned as he pondered on the question.

Sakura trying to lighten the mood smiled and tried to change the subject. "Hey remember that loud blond boy from our school? What was his name?" She said. This caught Sasuke's attention.

"How could I forget?" Sasuke leaned back and sighed. "Naruto Uzumaki."

**With Naruto**

It was one of those nights where being a detective can really be a pain in the ass. He was one of the few detectives who had to stay for a good hour and a half after midnight before going home to get some shut eye. He was detective Uzumaki from the burglary department in Konoha's police station, a title he held with pride. He left high school early and joined Konoha's police force, it had been dream come true for him. However the job had its downsides. He remembered throwing up when he witnessed for the first time a dead corpse. Too bad this corpse was headless otherwise he would have probably handled the situation a lot better. But what pissed him off the most was when the cops were doing all the fun stuff while he and his fellow detectives are left here to read and file reports.

Despite the fact he was annoyed that he was left here, at least he was left with some of the finest friends he could ask for. He and the others go back to high school or even earlier which made this job all the more better.

"Hey, Uzumaki." Speak of the devil. "Me and the others are going down to Ramen Ichiraku after the shift is over. Are you coming along?" Naruto looked up at his partner Kiba Inuzuka who was leaning against the desk Naruto was sitting and smiled sleepily.

"Sorry Kiba, I am way too tired to get drunk. But I will come by tomorrow, believe it!" Naruto said giving his traditional grin.

Kiba laughed. "Whatever you say Naruto, just don't push yourself too hard, I have noticed you overworking. You make me worried sometimes." Kiba said worriedly.

Naruto sighed. "Someone needs to deal with the white snake gang."

Kiba scoffed at him. "All they are is a bunch of street vandals and young misfits. Nothing can be helped there, kids will be kids. Remember we were like that?"

This time Naruto scoffed. "Did we mug people after beating them into submission? Did we sexually assault women? Did we light a building on fire?"

"Ok, ok I get it. But still it's not our job to investigate a group of brats. That's the cop's job. We do all the cool stuff like C.I.A does." Kiba said jokingly.

Naruto let out a deep breath; he began to feel as though he had lost this debate. "Yeah but still-"

"But nothing, I know the pass couple of months have been quiet and there has been nothing for people like us." Kiba said, determined to make his friend realise that. "But you should be grateful for that. People feel a lot safer knowing that a killer, a psychopath or a master thief is not on the loose. That's what matters."

Naruto bowed his head in defeat. "I guess you're right."

Kiba smiled then chuckled. "Of course I am, aren't I always?"

Naruto growled at him. "Don't be a smart ass about!"

"Yeah, yeah are you coming or not?" Kiba said finally leaving his desk and headed to his before grabbing his jacket and putting it on. Naruto just looked at him confused, to which Kiba groaned. "Our shift was over a minute ago. God do you ever pay attention?"

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, finally getting up from his seat and stretched upwards. He then grabbed his jacket and walked towards the exit where Kiba was waiting.

"Beautiful night don't you think?" Kiba said happily. "It's one of those nights where it makes you grateful to be alive."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I would be grateful if I got a bowel of ramen and a warm bed."

Kiba narrowed his eyes, muttering. "Fucking kill joy."

Naruto just smirked at his friend's annoyance at him. However he was right tonight was a beautiful night.

**With Sakura**

Sakura and Sasuke's night came to an end and it was time to say their goodbyes before not seeing each other for another week or perhaps more. She was very happy that the night went well but also disappointed it came to an end. She followed Sasuke to the door and opened it for him. As he walked out he turned to her and smiled.

"I had a really good time Sakura; I am going to miss you." He said and then the world slowed down around her. It was weird but it was the good type of weird, if that makes sense. At first it seemed so fast, he said he would miss me and then his lips were on hers. That was when it felt as though time itself slowed down. It was absolute bliss for her. She felt her face heat up and her eyes closed shut, but reopened slightly when she felt his lips disappear and his voice echoed in the hallway. "Goodbye."

Sakura's eyes shot wide and shouted 'goodbye' back before closing the door behind her. She slid down the wood and sighed happily. 'Tonight went a lot better than I thought. Take that Ino, CHA!' Her inner voice shouted. Tonight was definitely a beautiful night she thought to herself.

**Elsewhere**

He kept moving his legs as fast as he could down the dark street where everyone was now in their beds and unaware the peril he was in. As hard as he tried he felt as though he was going to collapse any second. He felt pain everywhere; all of it was coming from the massive slash running across his belly. He held his hands tightly against the wound but that did not stop the warm and wet feeling that his hand was surrounded in, the trail of red droplets he was leaving and the rusty smell of his blood. It didn't help that his chest heaving up and down at a fast rate and there was a lot of sweat coming from his forehead, causing him to move his black hair to the side repeatedly.

'Dear god I am going to die, I am going to fucking die!' He practically screamed in his head. "Please, for the love of god someone help me-GAH!" he was cut off by the blood he coughed up and then his whimper of pain afterwards. He finally saw this couple making out against a brick wall leading into an alley. He felt hope that he could live to see another day. "Hey… Hey!" He shouted at them and grabbed the man the man by the shoulder, who turned around and looked annoyingly at him. "You got to help me, some… someone trying to kill me! Please call the police, the hospital, call anybody please!" He wailed at him, feeling the pain getting worse and his mysterious attacker's presence get closer.

The man however looked angry and shoved him to the side that led into the alley. "Get lost you crazy idiot!" The man began walking away along with his girlfriend, leaving him all by himself.

"No, please don't leave me here to die!" The man screamed tears coming down his face as he dragged himself up from the floor and walked into the alley in hope that he could hide from him, but it was too late. "No, no, no please don't kill me." He begged as he watched his attacker emerge from the shadows of the alley. His hair was as red as the blood that came was dripping off his large cleaver, his young face was as white as the snow and his eyes were the colour of sea foam. However these eyes were empty as was his mercy.

"Sorry but I don't let prey get away from me." He said in a calm and cold voice.

The man continued to whimper. "What did I do to you!? I am a normal person, I have done nothing wrong!"

His straight face then turned into a sadistic smile. "No you haven't, but you will become something special. You will become the next piece into fulfilling my purpose."

The wounded man then shot up from the floor and tried to run away. It was futile; the red haired killer threw his cleaver at the man and struck his back. The blade was stuck in his back, which caused the man to collapse on the floor, screaming in terror and pain. The red haired man stalked towards him and grabbed the cleavers handle. He jerked it once causing the blade to come out and he then raised the cleaver above his head in a swinging position.

The man who was desperately clawing at the concrete beneath him to help him get out of the other man's foot that pinned him down. Again it was useless. "Someone help… help me please." He whispered having no life left in him to shout.

"Now make me feel alive!" The red haired man shouted before swing his cleaver into the helpless man's neck.

**AN: Chapter 1 has landed, I repeat chapter one has landed and it looks much better now than it used to. Sorry to inform that the next chapters won't be as long as this. **

**But reviews will be appreciated. So feel free to tell me if I am on the right track or if there is any errors but don't be too harsh is all I ask. So review please! Pweaty Please!**

**P.S for those who don't know Katsuobushi is a Japanese meal consisting of dried tuna**

**Lazy Owl**


	2. The Crime

**A/N: Hey guys here is the updated version of chapter 2 of 'the beauty of lying' enjoy!**

The room was dim lighted and the walls were painted light blue. It looked so familiar to him but he couldn't place his finger on where he was at the moment. There were kids toys scattered across the floor and on top of shelves. From where he was standing or should he say lying he could tell that this was indeed a child's room and he was in their bed. He then looked forward and in front of him were two people standing at the end of the bed. One was a red haired woman with a kind smile on her face and the other was a blonde haired man with his arm around the woman's shoulder and an equally kind smile as the woman. The red haired woman then came towards him and gave him a deep hug before whispering into his ear. He couldn't make out what she was saying but her face morphed from a kind look to one of shock and worry when there was a sudden crash outside the room. The man looked equally surprised which only increased when the door opened and in front of them was a humanoid figure holding a gun in his hand. The rest went so fast for him to comprehend what was going on. At first the blonde haired man went forward to grab the gun from the person but then collapsed on the floor when a flash of light entered the room and the sound of a bang. The women then clutched him tighter and tighter when the person approached them. He wanted to get up so badly and try and stop the advancing figure, but as much he wanted to he couldn't. The figure grabbed her by the hair and flung her against the blue wall. The muzzle of the gun went against her head and she then screamed at the top of her lungs before the loud bang.

"Naruto!"

Naruto shot up from his bed and panted frantically before observing his surroundings. The walls were white; there were no kid's toys, no bodies and definitely no one holding a gun. Naruto lay back down on the bed and began rubbing his eyes in hopes to waken up a bit.

'Same dream… every goddamn night.' He thought to himself. He looked over towards his alarm clock and then sighed. 'Back to work, I guess.'

Naruto stood up from his bed and then stretched his arms out as far as they could go. After putting on his orange shirt, black tie and jacket he went down stairs and boiled pot ramen for himself. He then grabbed his work case, left his apartment and began his daily walk to Konoha's police department. Upon entering the building he was greeted by a friendly face at the reception table.

"Good morning . Did you have a nice time last night with the others?" The person who said this was none other than Tenten. She continued to flash her amazing smile at him but don't let that fool you. Tenten is in fact the most badass and terrifying woman Naruto had ever met. She was previously a police Sargent before settling down after she accidently shot a fellow officer at a drug bust. That moment had a major effect on her and she swore on that day to never use a gun again. Besides that one time however, Tenten never misses. Naruto shuddered at the memory of her throwing a pen at him and landed dead centre of his head because he made a joke about her hair style.

Despite that particularly sore experience they were friends and so he flashed a smile back at her. "Good morning to you to Tenten and I wasn't actually with the other detectives last night, I was a bit tired." He said stopping at her desk.

"That's a shame, heard it was quiet the night." She said. Naruto nodded and then turned to walk to his own desk but bumped into someone he did not expect to see this early in the morning.

"S-Sargent Hatake!" Naruto stammered the words out of his mouth; his blue eyes were wide in shock. But before the man in front of him could say anything Naruto continued. "Y-you are actually early!?"

Yes the grey haired man known as Kakashi Hatake or Sargent Hatake, had a reputation of being extremely late to work. The grey haired and masked man would probably get fired if he wasn't perhaps the best man on the force. Kakashi just sighed at Naruto and looked down at the floor. "Is it really that surprising?" He said.

"Well you do come in at half-past twelve before coming up with a piss ass of an excuse to why you were late, nearly every day." Tenten said rolling her eyes at him.

Kakashi was about to retort to this but the only thing that came out his mouth was "B-but I… Well…!" He gave up and just looked at the floor again. "Naruto you dropped your bag and some documents." Kakashi pointed out.

Naruto also looked down and realised that he was so shocked at Kakashi's sudden arrival that he dropped all his stuff. He went down to pick up his bag and then his documents, but before he could get the last one a tanned hand picked it up from the floor. Naruto looked up to see that it was his partner, Kiba. Naruto tried to snatch it out of his hand but failed miserably.

Kiba looked at the document in his hand and then opened the first page. Kiba raised a brow and then looked at Naruto with questioning look. "The Masked Man, huh? You know he is just an urban legend made up by conspiracy theorists and whack jobs."

"Good morning to you to asshole." Naruto said with sarcasm dripping from his voice. Naruto finally was able to grab the document from Kiba and put it into his bag. Naruto looked at the folder that was in his bag and frowned.

Kiba chuckled. "Man, I knew you were bored but I didn't know you were willing to investigate myths."

Kakashi shook his head at Kiba's rudeness. "Why are you looking into the Masked Man, Naruto?" He asked with mild interest.

Naruto just continued to frown but he looked like he was in deep thoughts. "I don't know actually, I have always felt drawn towards the story ever since I was a kid."

Naruto felt Kakashi's hand land on his shoulder and then squeezed it hard reassuringly. "Don't worry about it Naruto." He said before his face cracked into smile, but Naruto could hardly tell because of that damn mask. "We all do things we don't understand. For example I don't know why I read the 'Icha Icha' series when everyone complains about how detailed the romance scenes are."

As soon as Kakashi said this there was an awkward silence. Kiba and Naruto looked at him in shock and slight disturbance but Tenten just cringed in disgust. "Ugh, men..."

As soon as she finished saying this a police officer ran through the door panting. Everyone looked at him with a questioning look before he then walked towards Kakashi. "There has been a murder, a body was found in an alley at maple apartments!"

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other and immediately started bombarding the poor officer with questions. "What is the address of where the body was found?" Naruto asked.

"23 Maple ST. you can't miss it with the police cars and the crowd of journalists surrounding the poor bastard." The officer said.

"Thanks very much! Come on Naruto!" Kiba said and began to run out the building and towards his car.

"I'm coming!" Naruto shouted back and ran after Kiba who already started the engine. Naruto entered the car with a massive smile on his face. He felt excitement rushing through him. Half of him silently thanked the murderer but the other half also felt depressed that someone actually died after many months of peace and quiet.

"Are you excited as I am?" Kiba asked him as he drove out of the parking area and onto the road towards their destination. Naruto looked at him and nodded.

"You bet my ass was hurting like hell after sitting at that goddamn desk for six whole months!" He said.

Kiba chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. "Yep, it's about time some action happened though the asshole that did this is going down."

Naruto chuckled along with him before saying. "You know here I was thi-" Naruto was interrupted when he felt something wet run up his ear and the sound of breathing behind him. Naruto just turned and glared at Kiba. "You didn't."

Kiba looked at him confused. "What?"

Naruto's glare intensified. "Don't 'what' me! Why is he here!?" Naruto pointed his thumb behind him before receiving a barrage of wet and slobbery licks on the cheek.

Kiba looked at him with a smile on his face and said sincerely. "Well I brought him along just in case we are in need of his nose. Isn't that right Akamaru?"

The giant white dog named Akamaru barked back at his owner before continuing to lick Naruto. Naruto still wonders why Kiba insists that they should bring him along. In the past before Kiba was partnered with him, he and Akamaru were an unstoppable duo when it came to drug busts and robberies. Why one would ask. It is simple really Akamaru had the best scent of smell than any other dog in the police department even more than all of Kakashi's dogs scents put into one. But now that Kiba was a detective Akamaru is not as useful in finding murderers as he was in previous jobs, but he is still able to be useful sometimes.

"So quit your bitchin we're here so there is no going back now." Kiba said and then parked the car at the side of the pavement near one of the apartments.

Naruto grumbled angrily as he got out the car and shut it behind him. Kiba then got out and then opened the back of the car to let Akamaru out and he began to pet his dog's head. "Hurry up Kiba I am sure that petting that mutt can wait." Kiba glared at Naruto who then began to walk up to crowd of photographers and people who were wondering what was going on.

Kiba and Naruto were barely able to get through the massive gathering of people before being stopped by an officer. "Sorry no access, only police officers can enter." He said.

Kiba spoke up first. "My name is detective Inuzuka and this is my partner detective Uzumaki. We were sent here by Sargent Hatake to investigate here." He said coolly as he showed his badge of authority to him.

The officer looked closely at the badge before stepping aside. "On you go detective; just go on down that alley there." The officer pointed at the dark alley before he paused and looked at the dog in bewilderment. "Is the dog with you by the way?" Kiba just nodded at him.

Both him and Naruto were at the end of the ally at the smell of blood immediately hit their noses causing them to make a face at the scent. As the two of them walked further and further down the alley the smell of the corpse got worse.

They both gasped at the sight before them and both trying to form words. Before them was a body, without the head and a giant slash running down the man's body. "Jesus, just what happened here?" Kiba muttered after recovering from his shock, while Naruto looked like he was going to hurl any second.

"Good question Mr. Inuzuka."

Both detectives turned to the voice behind them to see the brains of the police department as well as the laziest man they ever met. Kiba grinned at their fellow detective. "Shikamaru Nara, what brings you here? I don't recall me getting a message that you were coming."

Shikamaru just raised a brow at him before answering. "Kakashi sent me a message to come to this address where I am supposed to assist you in your case, since the two of you will somehow cock everything up."

'Ouch.' Both Kiba and Naruto thought.

"Anyway I arrived early so this is what I gathered so far from basic analysis. Clearly homicide, the victim died at 1:40 AM more or less and the weapon used was a blade of sorts most likely a cleaver."

"Do you think this was the work of a Jashinist?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, however he shook his head.

"That is what I thought at first but none of the signs show it was a member of the Jashin religion. Usually there would be the symbol of Jashin somewhere to indicate where the Jashinist was praying and usually it's a puncture wound through the heart or other vital organs. However this looks like the killer was just mauled him like an animal. So in other words we are dealing with a new mass murderer."

Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean, this was the only murder he has done."

"You mean you don't know?" Shikamaru asked with disbelief. Both shook their heads at him. "Detective Hyuga has just reported that there are five other murders all over city with the same results; butchered people and all in the same night."

Naruto paled when hearing this. Kiba then asked the next set questions. "Is there any additional information we should know about?"

"Well we were unable to identify the man since the head is nowhere to be found, obviously but I sent a blood sample of the victim for the boys in the lab to identify, detective Hyuga will be back with the results any moment. Also two people were reported to be seen at the scene of the crime as well as being there during the crime. They were brought into questioning, feel free to answer them any question you have for them."

Naruto thanked Shikamaru and left both him and Kiba to analyse the crime scene further in case they missed something. Naruto on the other hand left the alley and walked towards two people who were leaning against the brick wall of the apartment building nonchalantly one being a man and the other a women both looking like they were in their early twenties. Right now there was an officer talking to them but left when he saw Naruto approaching and stopped him in his tracks.

"Good luck detective because those two are as stubborn as a mule." Naruto nodded at him.

As he approached them both the man looked at Naruto and rolled his eyes. "Alright listen here, I'm going to say to you what I said to the other idiot that asked me retarded questions which is that I had nothing to do with this son of a bitch being killed and that is final. I'm speaking for the both of us as well."

"Well if you claim to not have anything to do with the crime that's fine but can you at least cooperate and answer a few questions that would be-"

The man shot a glare at Naruto that clearly said that he was pissed off. "Didn't you listen to me; I said 'I refuse to answer any questions.' Did you get that through your thick skull?"

This time it was Naruto's turn to glare but before he could lose his cool and throw a barrage of swear words at the man a hand gripped his shoulder. Naruto turned his head to see the stoic face of Neji Hyuga aka the coldest detective in the police department.

"Let me handle this detective." He said calmly before gently pushing Naruto aside and looking at the man in front of him.

"Great, another dumbass has come to harass me. Look I don't give a shit about some dead dude but what I do give a-" The man was cut off by a painful jab by Neji's finger to the chest as well as Neji's calm but threatening voice.

"Listen here you scum, this man has family who will grieve for months on end for their loss while you are being an insensitive bastard. So any trash like that coming from your trap again, I will have you smashed against this wall, beaten to pulp and thrown into police custody before you can shout 'police brutality'. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto learned a long time ago not to fuck with Neji and even though he has gotten use to his cold and calm personality he is still taken back by his bad cop side. The man nodded and stuttered a 'yes' but he looked like he peed himself.

"Good. Where were you at around the time 2:40 and what were you doing?"

"We were here enjoying our time alone after going to a party we just got back from. Our apartment is at the top of the building across the road." This time it was the woman talking who sounded much more pleasant than the man and she gestured towards the apartment building across the road. "Anyway while we were out here, a man approached us, he had messy black hair and black eyes, I think. That was all I could tell from looking at him. He came up to us asking for help but we thought he was some sort of drunk person or hobo asking for money so we ignored him. After a couple of seconds another man came past us. I didn't get a good look at him but he looked more intimidating than the other one."

Neji pulled one of his rare smiles and said. "Thanks for your time and cooperation." Naruto watched as that both the man and woman walked away from the scene before turning to Neji who just slightly smirked at him. "I still got it."

Naruto rolled his eyes at him. "No shit. Anyway Shikamaru said that you've been busy trying to identify the victim, any luck?"

Neji nodded before going into detail about the man that now lay dead in an alley. "His name is Shisui Uchiha, aged 32, unmarried, an employee as Uchiha Industries head architect and his parents died in an accident."

"Guess that saves us the grief of telling a parent their son is dead." Naruto murmured under his breath despite the news being quite depressing.

"However he has close ties with his two cousins who live here Konoha. In fact one of them lives only half a mile from here so it's best that we confront him about the bad news first."

Naruto looked at Neji confused. "Did you say 'we'?"

"Yes." Neji said as if it sounded so simple but to Naruto it was unusual for Neji let someone tag along with him on a job let alone Naruto. The two were basically fire and ice, with Naruto's burning passion and Neji's cold personality it was impossible for them to work together. After recovering a bit Naruto tried to form an excuse to why he couldn't go with Neji.

"Well that's cool and all but I got a case with Kiba to handle right now." Naruto smiled nervously and began scratching the back of his head.

"It seems to me that Detective Nara and Inuzuka have it all under control. Besides I doubt Kiba will miss you." Neji said and before Naruto could come up with another excuse Neji was already walking towards his car. After that Naruto decided to give up and go with Neji on his little trip.

"Jesus Neji, you sure know how to make me feel good about myself." Naruto said with obvious sarcasm as he entered the car and plugged in his seat belt, however Neji just smirked.

"Of course, what kind of friend do you take me for Naruto?"

This was the second time Neji shocked Naruto today by going as far as calling him a friend. Naruto was able to cover his shock by rolling his eyes muttering swear words. "By the way what is the name of Shisui's cousin that we are visiting?"

"I believe his name is called Sasuke Uchiha."

**A/N: Finally I have done the redraft for the second chapter, once again thank you my readers for taking the time to look at my story and hopefully I can update sooner this time. Don't forget to leave a comment, all comments are appreciated. Later! **


	3. The coming of the storm

**A/N: Sup! I am pleased to see that the amount of views on my story increase as well as the amount people who have put my story as a favourite which brings me a lot confidence so thank you very much. Anyway in past someone asked me who the two thieves are that are mentioned in the summary, well I am pleased to say that they will be appearing in this chapter.**

**So without further a due here is chapter 3!**

The Heist:

The sound of an alarm clock went throughout the entire apartment. The young man with onyx eyes as dark as is hair reached one arm out from underneath the bed covers to turn off his alarm before he grumbled and got out of the bed he was sleeping in. Today was Sasuke's day off work so he intended to spend the day to relax a little. Sasuke trudged to his bathroom, undressed and dropped his pyjama bottoms and top on the marble tiled floor. Turning on his shower, Sasuke stepped to the spraying hot water and let his body relax, enjoying the warmth that covered his body. As he closed his eyes he remembered the events of last night and smiled.

'It went a lot better than I hoped.' He thought and then put his hand on the handle to turn the shower off. 'It's a shame however that our time together is limited.'

After drying himself with a towel and getting changed into a white shirt and blue jeans he went to get himself breakfast until he heard a knocking at his door. And from the sound of the knocking it sounded quite urgent.

"I'm coming! Just wait a moment!" Sasuke shouted to the person at his door. 'I wonder who it could be.' Sasuke hoped that it was a certain pink haired nurse but he seriously doubted it since she had to go to the hospital for her shift.

When he approached and opened the door he was right to think that it wasn't Sakura but instead a man with long brown hair, pale milky eyes and was wearing a black suit over a white shirt. Sasuke could tell immediately by looking at his eyes that he was a member of the Hyuga family; a small time rival of the Uchiha's. Then Sasuke's eyes drifted to the man next the Hyuga and saw a Blonde haired young man with bright blue eyes. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at realising who the blonde haired man was.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked in confusion. It had been years since he last saw his blonde friend and though they didn't keep in touch after school, they would never forget one another. Naruto smirked at Sasuke's shocked face.

"Good to see you to, Teme." Sasuke smirked in return.

"Likewise, Dobe. I heard that you became a cop but I wouldn't believe that you were promoted so soon." The two engaged in a brief handshake.

"What can I say, it must be the irresistible Uzumaki charms I have." Naruto laughed and soon after Sasuke as well.

"So how can I help you, Naruto?" Naruto's face grimaced.

"You might want to have a seat ." Neji said before motioning Sasuke to a black leather couch in the middle of the apartment and in front of the large flat screen TV.

Sasuke took a seat and then looked at both men with a questioning look. They both stood in front of Sasuke; Naruto was looking at the floor and his hair covered his face making it hard to tell how he was feeling. Neji on the other hand had his arms crossed and wore the same calm and expressionless face he always had before proceeding to speak.

"We are sorry to say that last night your cousin, Shisui Uchiha, was murdered at maple apartments."

Sasuke felt his heart drop and shatter to millions of pieces. To Sasuke, Shisui was like a brother to him who was always there for him when he needed guidance even after Sasuke grew from a boy to young adult. 'Oh god… Itachi will definitely be devastated to hear this. Those two were close.'

"Sasuke… are you alright?" Naruto asked, finally lifting his head up to see the young Uchiha's shocked face.

"No. No I'm not alright. Thanks for letting me know, but for now I need a moment to grieve and tell the other members of Shisui's death."

"There is no need to trouble yourself with that; Neji and I can do that-"

"Please I insist it's what I must do." Sasuke then led the two detectives to the door and opened it for them. Just as Sasuke was about to close the door, Naruto stopped him by pressing his hand against the cold wood.

"By the way Sasuke, I'm taking the day off early so if you want, would like to grab a drink later." It took a moment for Sasuke to take in the question before pondering on it.

"Sure, I can do with one after today."

**An hour later, with Sakura**

Sakura was in hospital, checking up on a patient with four broken ribs before she was told she had a call. When she picked up she was pleasantly surprised.

"Hello, Sakura." Sakura recognised that cool voice and smiled immediately. She then shooed away some of the nurses who were eaves dropping on her and didn't say anything until she had complete privacy.

"Hey Sasuke, it's unusual for you to call me during working hours. Is something up?" There was a moment of silence before Sasuke replied.

"Yeah, you remember my cousin, Shisui, right?"

"Yes. Why?" Sakura asked, wondering where the conversation was going. By the sound of his voice she could tell it was anything but good.

"He died last night. He was murdered to be precise." Sakura gasped before placing a hand over her mouth. Though she never met Shisui, Sasuke spoke highly of him and she instantly knew that he was a good man.

"Dear God, I am so sorry Sasuke. Do you want me to come and visit, I'm sure no one would mind if I took one day off." She heard Sasuke sigh over the phone.

"Sorry honey but today isn't really the best. Right now I'm heading to Uchiha Industries for a family meeting. No doubt to discuss funeral arrangements and who will be taking Shisui's place now that he is dead." Sakura frowned at the last thing Sasuke said.

"That's a bit cold. I mean he just died and they are already talking about who will take his place."

"Well my family are anything but normal."

"Well that's true."

"By the way I met Naruto today." Sakura's interest perked up when hearing this.

"Do you mean the Naruto we know?"

"Yeah, can you believe that he is a detective?" Sakura smiled widely. She couldn't actually believe that such a loud knucklehead can be a detective but then again Naruto was always filled with surprises.

"Wow that's amazing. And here I thought he moved away."

"Well he and I are going out for a beer after this meeting I've got. You're free to drop by if you want, I am sure he would love to see you again."

"No I wouldn't want to get in the way of the manly talks." Sakura giggled at the end and Sasuke chuckled along with her.

"Suit yourself. I got to go, love you, bye."

"Bye, Sasuke." She heard the phone hang up and she sighed. She really felt bad for Sasuke for losing a close family member but was also happy for him to finally get a friend he can leisurely hang out with. 'Well back to work I suppose.'

**Half an hour later, With Sasuke**

"This is a travesty!"

"Who would be so cruel?!"

"The one who did this would pay dearly!"

"What are we going to do?!"

Sasuke looked left and right before sighing and closing his eyes. This meeting escalated to a disaster within three minutes. Questions were thrown at the man himself, Madara Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha family and it's industrial company. Right now all the most powerful and wealthiest Uchiha's were gathered in the one room around a large oval shaped oak table with a glass centre. At one end of the table was Madara, sitting next to him was Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, and his and Sasuke's father. On the other end of the table was Sasuke looking like he was in hell itself.

"Silence all of you!" The booming voice of Madara reached across the entire table. Everyone went quiet and looked at looked at Madara. "I understand your grief over Shisui. He was a great example of a true Uchiha and was more than fit to lead this company. And as it pains me to see such a potential young man go, it is time for us to let him rest and for us to decide what we are to do now." A hand shot up from the man two seats from where Sasuke and stood up before everyone.

"May I speak, sir?" Madara nodded once.

"Speak your mind, friend."

"Well, as we all know Shisui was the lead architect of Uchiha industries, I have got friend from the Stone District who is an expert within this field. He will be more than willing to help us out." There was a sudden discussion among the other Uchiha's; some agreeing while others not so much.

"I acknowledge your point, after all people of the Stone District are masters in architecture. However I cannot accept or trust anyone who is not a pure blood Uchiha, to carry out such tasks." Madara replied, which was followed by noises of agreement. Just then Itachi turned to Madara.

"I would like to offer a proposal, sir." Madara looked at Itachi.

"Very well, speak." Itachi stood up and looked at everyone in the room.

"I am more than happy to accept the responsibility, since I can tell no one else really wants to have extra job to deal with." Madara just raised an eye brow.

"Are you sure Itachi? You already have a duty, why another?"

"I've got enough time to do both anyway. I beg sir to give me this role; I will complete any task that comes my way. I promise you that I won't let you down once sir." Itachi bowed at the end which caused Sasuke to roll his eyes at how much Itachi is kissing Madara's ass. Madara then let out a small chuckle.

"Very well, Itachi." Madara then turned to Sasuke's dad. "I must say Fugaku; you have raised a prodigy child. I can always count on you to make an heir to the Uchiha's fortune."

Fugaku smirked and bowed his head slightly. "Your words honour me, Madara."

Madara looked pleased by Fugaku's words and then looked at Sasuke from across the table. "Young Sasuke, if you don't mind but the rest of us has a serious matter to discuss. I apologise for bringing you here on such short notice."

Sasuke stood up and bowed to Madara. "There is nothing to apologise for. I was humbled to be here." And after he said this he turned and left. Despite what he said about people kissing Madara's ass, who could blame them really. No one would dare disrespect Madara in any manner. The Senju family, one that rivalled the Uchiha's in every way learned that Madara was a tyrant not to underestimate.

Sasuke was about to go on the escalator before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to only see Tori with his traditional big grin. "Rough day, huh?"

Sasuke smiled a little before replying. "You can say that. At least I can leave now. By the way how did Itachi take the news of Shisui's death?" Sasuke was genially curious since from the look on Itachi's face in the meeting room he wasn't that phased.

"It was hard to tell what he was feeling. As soon as he heard Itachi tried to act calm I can tell that for sure." Tori replied his drifting to the ceiling, clearly trying to remember correctly. "Why do you ask?"

Sasuke shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Goodbye Tori, try not over working yourself, okay." Sasuke then began to descend down the escalator to the ground floor.

Tori laughed a bit. "I'll try not to."

Sasuke was at the glass door entrance to the building and then whipped out his mobile from his trouser pocket and went into his contacts. He looked at Sakura's number for a moment before scrolling down to the U section for Uzumaki. He pressed dial and held the phone to his ear hearing the distinctive ringing noise before a voice came on the other side.

"Hello?"

"Hey Naruto I am ready for that drink you offered." The blonde's voice perked up at hearing this.

"Great where are you?"

"I am at the entrance to Uchiha Industries. Don't take long." And with that final note Sasuke hung up and sighed.

**With Unknown**

The sun had fallen beyond the horizon and the moon began to ascend into the starry night sky. In a rundown, damp and bare apartment room there were two figures sitting opposite from one another and both were gazing at the moon through the broken glass. One had a calm and stoic expression on her fair pale face and her teal eyes looked distracted by the glowing moon. The other one looked very bizarre; covered in black clothing from head to toe giving him the appearance of a panther. Unlike his female companion his black eyes clearly showed he was deep in thought.

"It was night just like this," murmured the voice of the women "when it happened."

The young man looked up though he did not answer. He simply looked back down at the filthy floor and noticed a rat scurry across it. It was at this point where the woman stood up and stretched her arms up as wide as they could go and looked at the strangely dressed man. "Come on we need to get ready."

"Yeah… right." He said back to her in a raspy voice. He rummaged through a black bag that lay beside him and pulled out container of purple paint and then applied it to his face.

**A/N: And there you have it. Not much on those thieves but now (hopefully) you know who they are and that they are up to something. Anyway sorry it takes for ever to get these chapters up and I'll try to get the next one up sooner. Leave a review and speak your mind about anything. Until then bye!**


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